A new leisure and community facility could open in South Ayrshire in the next financial year after the national agency for sport provided the final piece of the £5 million capital costs.

A funding award of £400,000 from sportscotland, which comes almost exactly one year after South Ayrshire Council committed a full £4m investment in the new facility, marks a significant milestone for the project with all the capital funding now in place.

The unnamed facility – a partnership project between the council and South Carrick Community Leisure (SCCL) – will transform the harbourside in Girvan and the leisure and community facilities available to people in the town and surrounding villages.

It will house a 25 metre swimming pool, soft play area, superb fitness gym, flexible multi-purpose studio and café.

Councillor Bill McIntosh, leader of South Ayrshire Council, said: “What fantastic news and our sincere thanks to sportscotland – and all the other funding partners – for helping us reach such a major milestone. This really does give the green light to move on full steam ahead and make our vision a reality for the people of Girvan and South Carrick.

“It has taken a long time to get here, but we’re now in a great place with an outline design and specification that can be built with the monies we have available to us. And every day we’re moving closer and closer to work getting started and the pool, gym, and soft play being available to the paying public.

“Our focus now is finalising the planning application and then getting the work started, so there’s still a lot to do. However, we can’t ignore how far this project has come over the last year and my thanks to everyone who has played a part in helping achieve that.”

Andrew Sinclair, chair of SCCL, added: “The sportscotland monies mean there really is no stopping us now. It’s taken a lot of work and effort to get here – and it’s been difficult at times – but our focus has always been on getting it right and ensuring that we can build and open a facility that we can afford, and can continue to afford for years to come.

“I’m very proud of the £1m-plus that’s been raised by the community to support the council investment and we will always be indebted to our funders like sportscotland who are doing nothing short of making our dreams come true. I hope the fact that we now have all the money in place will provide confidence and reassurance to those who thought this day would never come.

“That day is here – and there are many more milestone days to come as the project moves forward to provide the people of Girvan and South Carrick with the sport, leisure and culture facilities we not only need, but deserve.”

Stewart Harris, chief executive of sportscotland, said: “We are building a world class sporting system for everyone in Scotland and we view this leisure facility in Girvan as a key part of that. I am delighted that we can award this project £400,000 that will create more and better opportunities to take part in sport and physical activity.

“The council, SCCL and the local community have all worked tirelessly and I am confident that people in the local area will reap the benefits once the build has been completed.”

The full capital funding for the new Girvan leisure and community facility comes from the following organisations: